The+Digital+Divide

Adapted from: Encyclopedia of Education. (2002). The International Gap in Technology. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Opposing Viewpoints in Context: [|http://0-ic.galegroup.com.library.hct.ac.ae/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate] [|=normal&catId=&documentId=GA][|LE%7CCX3403200332&mode=view&]

According to some, the development of information and communications technology is increasing the gap between the rich and the poor, those with knowledge and those without, the information rich and the information poor. Instead of closing the divide, the introduction of more ICT further increases social and economic divides–not only between rich and poor countries, but also among various socioeconomic groups within countries.

Others argue that ICT decreases the divide by involving countries in the global economy and providing them access to global knowledge and information for development. Nonetheless, there are stark differences in access across the world according to gender, geography (i.e., urban versus rural), income, education, age, occupation, and even ethnicity and race. The groups with the greatest access to new information and communications technology are generally well-educated, high income urban males. Poor, illiterate females in rural areas are least likely to have access to ICT.


 * The Digital Divide in Education **

The global dimensions of the digital divide are most clearly seen in education. At the beginning of the twenty-first century many industrialized countries had begun to gear up their education systems for the knowledge economy by making major investments in computers for classrooms, in networking their schools, and in training teachers to use technology in their teaching. Thus, in the United States the ratio of students to instructional computers reached five to one and 98 percent of schools were connected to the Internet. In the United Kingdom, the ratio of students to computers was twelve to one in primary school and seven to one in secondary school while access to the Internet was virtually universal, as it was in the European Union as a whole.

In contrast, most of the developing countries, with few exceptions, were more concerned with very difficult educational issues–low primary and secondary school enrollments, inadequately trained teachers, little or no access to textbooks, and ineffective school management–rather than with improving ICT. The exceptions were a small number of countries in Asia, Latin America, and other parts of the developing world that began introducing computers in classrooms, networking schools, and developing digital content to address the educational requirements of the global knowledge economy.


 * Education and Technology in the Balance **

Does access to computers and the Internet give the education systems of industrialized countries an advantage over those in developing countries? While there has been good progress in providing access to ICT in schools and universities in industrialized countries, the expected benefits to education, as noted, have been difficult to measure: (1) increasing productive teaching and learning; (2) transforming teaching and learning from traditional textbook lessons to more learner-friendly, student-centered approaches that use powerful interactive tools and methods; and (3) equipping students with higher order thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare them for life in an information-based society and workplace.

The experience of the industrialized countries would suggest that access to the Internet and the wealth of knowledge and information it provides does not automatically lead to measurable improvements in the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Rather, such improvements are the result of parallel efforts to enhance the teaching and learning process by training teachers, reducing class size, making textbooks available, and establishing standards of learning. Nonetheless, it is obvious that school systems everywhere, and especially in the developing countries, need to find ways of providing more students with regular and frequent access to information and communications technology and to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to support a knowledge economy.


 * BIBLIOGRAPHY**

CAIRNCROSS, FRANCES. 1997. //The Death of Distance.// Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

CASTELLS, MANUEL. 1998. //End of Millennium.// Malden, MA: Blackwell.

CASTELLS, MANUEL. 2001. //The Internet Galaxy.// New York: Oxford University Press.

CUBAN, LARRY. 2001. //Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom.// Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD. 2001. //Fools Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood.// College Park, MD: International Alliance for Childhood.

KULICK, JAMES A. 1994 "Meta-Analytic Studies of Findings on Computer-Based Instruction." In //Technology Assessment in Education and Training,// ed. Eva L. Baker and Harold F. O'Neil, Jr. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE OF ADVISORS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, PANEL ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY. 1997. //Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K–12 Education in the United States.// Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President.

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 2001. //Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development.// New York: Oxford University Press.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. 2000. //Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion.// Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. //Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2000.// (NCES 2001–071). Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.


 * INTERNET RESOURCES**

DIGITAL DIVIDE NETWORK. 2002. @http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sections/index.cfm.

UNITED KINGDOM DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS. 2001. //Statistics of Education: Survey of Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2001.// @http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SBU/b0296/sb09-2001.pdf.

WILSON, ERNEST J., III. 2000. "Closing the Digital Divide: An Initial Review." //Internet Policy Institute.// @http://www.internetpolicy.org/briefing/ErnestWilson0700.html.

=Vocabulary= //There is a stark contrast between desert and forest areas.// || //Investment project in the UAE increased more every year.// || Example : When you approaches the village you will see a garage on your left. || Example : The environment is a universal issue. ||
 * =Word= || =P.o.S= || =Meaning & example sentence= ||
 * stark || adj. || complete or utter, extreme
 * investments || noun || finance or leverage
 * illiterate || adi || someone who is illiterate has not learned to read or write ||  ||   ||   ||
 * virtually || adv || in effect though not in fact; practically; nearly ||
 * gear up || verb || come into or be in gear. ||
 * enrollments || noun || thenumberofpersons enrolled. ||
 * industrialized || verb || to introduce industry into (an area) on a large scale. ||
 * wealth || noun || agreat quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches. ||
 * approaches || verb || To come near or nearer to
 * Universal || adj || Connected with, done by or affecting everybody in the world or every-body in a particular group.